Fune Saga: Monster Card
by Dragon's Tongue
Summary: - partial Yugioh crossover - With the release of a powerful phantom, Kagome and the others unleash six elemental spirits. A new race begins alongside the one for the Jewel, and this time there are no definite alliances. - ch1 up -
1. Card Phantom, Fune!

A/N: mutters to self too many fics, la dee da, can't survive till summer, dum dee doo....  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Or any of the other characters in the Inuyasha franchise. In fact, the franchise itself isn't owned by me, either. Neither is Yu-Gi-Oh, or any of the monsters seen in this fanfic. I also can't claim the characters themselves, but that's for the future, if I ever decide to make this a true crossover. Finally, elements shamelessly stolen from Phantom Brave will appear in this fic, starting with this chapter, and wherever the need to describe comes, so again I disclaim ownership. In fact, if I ever get my hands in the mindset...or whatever, to FINISH Phantom Brave, it may become a triple crossover. For now, however, enjoy!  
  
**XXXXX**  
  
"Hey, sis, wait up!" An eager voice called out to the raven-haired girl, who stopped in mid sprint, sighing as she put down a gargantuan yellow backpack. "What did Mom say I forgot, Sota?"  
  
_My name's Kagome Higurashi, and I'm just your average, demon-slaying, time travelling girl. Okay, so that was an oxymoron, but it's the best way to describe my life right now.  
_  
She continued her internal monologue as her little brother stopped, panting for breath with another large backpack, this one with a leathery brown shade. _I get sent back to the feudal era whenever I go down the hidden well in my family's shrine, where I'm always greeted by an annoying, dog-eared, impatient jerk named Inuyasha. Then I have to keep my distance from a slowly dying monk, keep my best friend from falling into depression over her mindless little brother, stop Inuyasha from killing a mischievous fox demon, and all while fighting for my life over pieces of a jewel I broke. Why did I say I was average, again?  
_  
"You promised that you'd take these with you, incase you got bored." Sota griped, lifting the slightly lighter bag. "And you can't back out of it, because if you did..."  
  
Kagome sighed at the uncharacteristic smirk on her sibling's face. "I know, I know... but I still think Inuyasha'll be bored with them before I'm finished explaining how to play..."  
  
_The last time I came back from "The Great Shikon Jewel Hunt", I'd absolutely forgot to clean my uniform's skirt. Although my mom's scarily cheerful that I can survive eight-story dogs and other demons, if she ever saw me covered in blood.... well, I think history'd be re-written as 'Doomed by Parental Discipline'. Sota covered for me (in more ways than one) while I rushed to my room to change clothes, and he's been waiting for the right moment to be paid back...but the way he chose it made me wonder if my life was so crazy, compared to my brother's mind..._  
  
"Why would I want anyone to play Duel Monsters against me?" The white and green uniformed girl asked, completely surprised. "I don't even like watching virtual tournaments on TV, and whenever you get me to play, I stink!"  
  
"Well, maybe Inuyasha'd be better at it than you, so it'd be good practice..."  
  
_After that, I couldn't bring myself change his mind.... but I'm pretty sure it won't end well, either way...  
_  
**00000**  
  
Inuyasha: _Card Phantom, Fune!_  
  
**00000**  
  
Amber eyes blinked in confusion, as they had been expected to, as the blackhaired girl laid her luggage near the hut's door. "Duel Monsters? I do that all the time, and I know from experience it isn't fun..."  
  
"No, 'Duel Monsters'!" Kagome sighed. "It's a card game. Sota thought it might be fun for you to learn, though he's probably just yearning for an excuse to come over to this side, so he packed a few decks along with my other stuff."  
  
The predicted 'Feh' met Kagome's ears at this remark. "Little brat's more resilient then you are. If it were him over here, scaredy-cat symptoms aside, we might already have the Jewel completed!"  
  
The white-haired dog demon blanched, his ego dropping, as Kagome turned around from her behemoth bag, her eyes foretelling a merciless three-letter word's future release from her mouth. "Come again?"  
  
"I, er, well what are you waiting for!?" Inuyasha growled." If you're gonna gripe about it from now till your next X-M, at least teach it to me so I can win!"  
  
"Exam." Kagome corrected blandly, looking into the extra bag for the first time. She nearly snorted; aside from several rows of seperated decks, layers of plastic card covers held nearly every card Sota hadn't yet assigned to a dueling deck. "No wonder this weighs so much.... I wonder how big Sota's room looks, now?"  
  
After randomly grabbing two decks, the miko-in-training launched into the rules, which she had long sinced memorized from her brother's endless drilling. Of course, she was inturrupted several times, from barely a minute into the explanation. " Eight-thousand points representing lives!? Are you sure this 'Pegasus' guy isn't Naraku in your time?" "Sacrificing weaklings to summon powerful fighters, heh, this game gets better by the minute!" "Pink? Why are cards representing lethal traps pink, of all colors?"  
  
By the time they had finally set up the duel mat, Inuyasha was standing in a hole in the floor, playing cards at eye-level with his kneeling opponent, his face covered in splinters. Some five minutes later...  
  
"Wow, I guess I don't stink as bad as I thought..." Kagome pondered innocently, smiling at the back of the sulking, red-cloaked half-demon. "Good game for a beginner, Inu-"  
  
"That was a waste of time." He inturrupted quickly, still not looking at her. "Besides, if they were REAL monsters, I'd beat them easily!"  
  
She sighed. "I should've known; if any one person would be unsatisfied losing their first duel by 500 points-"  
  
A loud crashing sound ended Inuyasha's retort before it began, causing the named hanyou to flinch, expecting another _Sit_ to have happened, while the high-schooler glanced out the window. She sighed again at the pained, though unembarassed face grinning at her. "Lady.... Kagome... nice.... to see you..."  
  
"Hi, Sango!" She called, pushing the indigo-robed monk off the house's side. "Any leads on a new shard, or demon attack?"  
  
The raven-haired slayer shook her head, the ponytail she always wore while in battle gear blowing in the wind. "The only thing that seems strange recently is a weak demon breaking free of a seal a few miles away. No shards, not even a single insect spying around."  
  
Kagome blinked." A weak demon? Why would anyone need to seal a weak demon? It would be less work to just kill it, wouldn't it?"  
  
"It might be a demon that possesses others in order to fight." Miroku commented, lifting himself up with his staff and rubbing a red spot on his face, showing no apparant contempt for being slugged into a wall. "If that is the case, I can easily seal it up again-"  
  
"Why bother?" Inuyasha asked, already carrying Kagome's backpack as he exited the hut through the new hole. "Let's just kill it and save future generations the trouble of annoying us!"  
  
Miroku frowned with restraint. "Demons that have form solely by possessing others are some of the most difficult to kill, Inuyasha! They only die if their host dies, and they can abandon their host in an instant to save themselves, and possess another person; most likely the one who just slew the first host."  
  
"So let's just pick out a few random demons we don't care about, drag them there-"  
  
Several burning glances answered him. "Feh. Fine, we'll seal the darned thing. Killing weaklings senselessly would be childish, anyway."  
  
**XXXXX**  
  
The village itself showed no signs of disturbance. Granted, this was ignoring the strange, sometimes fearful looks from its inhabitants as the oddly assorted group passed through. Kagome mildly wished that Shippo had gone with them, merely for the innocent image having the fox around cast.  
  
"The cave ahead is our target, although you can't sense any demon energy." Miroku noted, his eyes darting to the side as some eyecatchers passed by. "The spirit, in fact, may be that of a corrupt human, which makes this all the more dangerous."  
  
Inuyasha started to make a comment, before slapping the side of his face, peeling off a minute figure. "Somehow, I guessed you'd arrive as soon as we came to something non-threatening."  
  
Myoga the flea, as usual, ignored the annoyed glances from the group he, at peaceful times, viewed as his wards/lords. "I'll spare you the argument, Lord Inuyasha, and get straight to the point; I think I've found a way to help you accomplish your goal."  
  
The group stopped, and the human members formed a sort of circle with Inuyasha, the handheld demon being the center. "You know something about Naraku? Some new scheme, another incarnation, anything HELPFUL?"  
  
The flea sighed at his master's impatience. "I'm talking about your OTHER goal, Inuyasha...the one that began this entire predicament over the Sacred Jewel..."  
  
Confusion passed the group, took a second glance, then slapped them with its walking stick. "Huh?" Myoga grumbled, annoyed by their lack of deduction. "Your highly punctured plan to become a full-blooded demon, master! I've found a way that-" He looked around. "Why are you here, anyway? It normally takes days for me to hitchhike animals to you all, given the distance you go everytime a shard appears..."  
  
Kagome nodded sheepishly as they began walking again, the flea taking his normal seat at his lord's escape-friendly shoulder. "The short version is; We're bored. There doesn't seem to be anything going on, and rather than wait for that to change, we're helping this village with a sealed demon trying to get out."  
  
"Sealed de... _Fune_!"  
  
Sango blinked. "You know this demon, Myoga?"  
  
He nodded, before elaborating, "Fune is a phantom; a spirit trapped between this world and the next. He was quite a powerful fighter in his life, though more than a little brash, and made a name for himself as he plundered villages and caravans." He gravely looked down, eyes moving toward the owner of the white hair threatening to push him off with every step. "He was a human, a teenage human, to boot, which made the injury apon your father's image even greater as he robbed his entire castle and fled without a single mark."  
  
Inuyasha had a skeptic smile on his face. "So, he was basically some overpowered thief?"  
  
"Indeed so." Myoga answered. "His speed was such that any attempts to slay him missed by miles, even your father's attacks. And so, your father called apon the descendants of some of his first allies; the sorcerors of the River Empire."  
  
"River Empire?" Kagome asked quizzically. "I've never heard of an empire near a river in these times..."  
  
"Well, its an old name, and one only used amongst demons, so you probably wouldn't." Myoga theorized. "I believe the sorcerors called their river the 'Nire', or something along that line..."  
  
"The Nile!? Egypt!" The highschooler exclaimed, slightly amazed. "Old is right; Egypt was a great empire thousands of years ago! And their 'sorcerors' were their priests, I think.."  
  
"Whoever they were, it seems they succeeded in helping with Fune. But it seems rather elaborate to trap a common thief, regardless of power, in a seal. And if he was so powerful, why does he seem so weak now?" Miroku inquired, his full attention focused into the topic as the village faced their backs, the cave looming closer.  
  
The micro-demon grumbled again. "I was getting to that. As I said before, Fune is a phantom. He was killed by the creatures that the sorcerors conjured, but not by their speed. I myself witnessed it from my lord's back; he stopped short, and stared at the monsters with wonder and respect deeply etched into his face. The next second, a white-skinned dragon incinerated him."  
  
Shocked reactions bred from this statement, though Kagome also had some strange feeling of foreboading from the part about the dragon. "He didn't try to avoid the attacks?"  
  
"No, he did not..." Myoga sighed deeply. "However, it was proven to us that this was intentional moments later. Fune was wearing several magical items on his person at the time, and one or more of them had powers that reached beyond life, the most significant being his transformation into a phantom. As that type of spirit, he could confine himself to anything he wished, making his body reappear, and also bearing the strength of the object used. He confined himself to the stone tablet that the dragon had came from, and suddenly exhibited its energy-breathing powers."  
  
Again, the group stopped, the cave's entrance a few feet away, suddenly more intimidating than earlier. The flea continued, " The young sorceror who had wielded the dragon, himself no older than Fune, was even more of a frightful sight. I believe my lord later referred to him as an insane perfectionist, as he summoned two other dragons of the same variety, and forced Fune from the tablet, destroying a great deal of the area around it as they did so."  
  
Kagome's worry was swiftly increasing. Something in the back of her mind was screaming at her to remember something...something about a human from her time, and white dragons....she was certain she'd heard it from Sota, somehow, at least a dozen times.  
  
"A young girl, I believe she was called Mana, or something like that, was able to forcibly confine the unconscious Fune to a single grain of dirt, which was then paved over on a wall in that cavern over there, with several charms and some of the sorcerors' own curses laid apon the stone covering. Your father, Lord Inuyasha, then had all of us, save for the dragon-summoning priest and himself, exit the cave, and we saw bright flashes come from it for hours until they left, your father looking tired. The priest's smirk had always bothered me, and I had never noticed the golden scepter he held until it glowed as they left for their country."  
  
Inuyasha's traditional smirk returned. "Yet another reason you're staying here: We're fighting a small speck of dust? You've reached an all-time low, old man."  
  
"This is a lot more serious than we thought, Inuyasha." Sango said critically, her Hiraikotsu's handle gripped hard in her hand. "We have no idea what will happen when we attempt to re-seal this being. We have to act carefully.... Myoga, what objects do phantoms normally try to confine themselves to?"  
  
"That really depends more on the object's spirit than it's form." The cowardly vassal noted. "An object with memories or emotions connected to it will easily give a phantom more power than the finest blade just recently bought. If that blade had been given as a _gift_, alternatively, the emotions it carries will define its power. Phantoms possess all of their power from life before confining, _and _that power is increased by the strength of the ob-"  
  
His large eyes went to the rosary beads along the neck and hand of the two males, the sword at his master's side, the ridiculously large boomerang in the slayer's hand, and the bow in the younger girl's. "......... on second thought, perhaps you would fare better against Fune without my aid. I shall-"  
  
'Squish'.  
  
They entered the cave, one of them between a finger and a hard place, the latter being a thumb.  
  
There was nothing special, nothing significant to even suggest that this cave was different from any other of the caves littered across the region, aside from it's lack of thousands of starving demons who had not yet opted for same-specie cannibalism. The only significant thing was a small rectangle of flame in the dead center of the rocky dead end, barely breaking the shape of a square, containing a white patch of remaining paper from the charm.  
  
"So, he has not fully broken his seal." Miroku mused, reaching into his robe for a replacement. "I have yet to truly test this brand of mayoke charm, but this is currently our best hope."  
  
He removed from his indigo cloth a single, inflexible paper, muttered a prayer under his breath, and hurled it like a throwing knife at the flame. He had barely grinned as it stuck before it vanished, leaving only ashes behind. "Well....I'm out of ideas."  
  
Sango closed her eyes, shaking her head with a sigh. "Kagome, perhaps your purification powers would calm his spirit, sparing us the trouble of keeping him here."  
  
The teenager nodded, experience nulling what was once a feeling of embarassment at being asked for such a thing. Removing her bow and a single arrow from her back, she fluidly aimed and fired.  
  
Inuyasha's instincts flared the split-second before it struck, leaping in front of the girl just in time to shield a small explosion. After several seconds of dust-clearing and coughing, he remarked, "That worked about as well as if Shippo handled it. Anyone for my earlier plan of low-level demon sacrifice?"  
  
A strong _Sit_ nearly reached the dog demon, but Kagome, along with the rest of the group, suddenly stared at the lack of a burning substance in front of them. And then, they felt it.  
  
Miroku tensed greatly, gripping his staff until his skin turned raw, his years of training making him most aware. Inuyasha's scowl deepened to a more serious level as the strange energy mixed with his youki, reflecting into his nostrils from his sword sheath's barrier. Sango, even with her minimal training in the more spiritual arts of slaying, prepared her Hiraikotsu for a fierce swing. Kagome, however, merely felt a slight tension at her neck, and joined the other three in the wide-eyed realization why.From her backpack erupted a brief burst of violet energy, accompanied by a swiftly spinning shape that landed several feet away, feet scraping against the ground.  
  
From his standing point, he could be seen to be roughly Kagome's height, wearing a bright green overshirt with a black one underneath, the latter of which matching the color of his pant; the overall effect was similar to a fighting gi in her time. His hair was black and minutely spiked, but appeared tame for the most part. His skin was lightly tanned, and his hands and his feet were bare. These attributes made everything except his gi seem average, controlled before they reached extremities. Except, that is, for the thick, powerful, yet human aura surging around him.  
  
The first to recover from his stunned glance, the white-haired hanyou quickly strode to the front of the group, ready to unsheath his blade. "Since there's no one else fitting the old flea's description, you must be Fune."  
  
The stranger grinned, his eager expression eeriely similar to the half-demon staring him down. "The one and only. And you look very conspicuous yourself. Are you one of Inu-no-brainso's relatives or something?"  
  
Inuyasha's smirk involuntarily shifted to an angry grimace. "I'm the son of Inu-no-taisho, though that has nothing to do with this. I'm Inuyasha."  
  
"I see." He said, sounding genuinely interested. At that instant, he suddenly vanished, his form seeming to shift out of sight at a high speed. "And what is the name of this beautiful maiden that released me?"  
  
Turning in shock to see the spirit suddenly behind him, the first thing registered in Inuyasha's mind was that Fune was bowing in mock-humility, his right hand holding the one of a startled, blushing Kagome. Miroku and Sango's eyes widened in horror, and jumped to the side, shielding themselves with their long weapons.  
  
The demon instinctively pulled out his blade, which transformed to a ridiculous width. "Tetsusai-"  
  
CLANG!  
  
It was not the fact that he had been repelled, but the fact that it had been a single, casually lifted finger that stopped the blade in its tracks. Fune released Kagome's hand and stood back up, pushing Inuyasha further away with his unaffected hand. "Like I asked; who is this beautiful maiden who was kind enough to release me, yet seems to deserve to be cut in half?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha growled dangerously, further agitated by the sudden frown in his opponant.  
  
"I'm talking about how your sword would have gone through me as well as this girl, idiot. You either care little about her or you're a complete moron in handling fast situations."  
  
With that, the unsealed spirit suddenly swung a foot across both the hanyou's, and flipped over his falling form to land back at his original spot, in sync with the resulting crash.  
  
"Inuyasha!" The highschooler gasped, moving to glare at the fighter. "I'm Kagome! And if you think you're going to get off with that just by saying things, then you're dead wrong!"  
  
"Saying what?" Fune asked, his voice holding no sarcasm. "You released me, you're beautiful, and you're a maiden; both in appearance and in scent."  
  
Silence suddenly wandered into the cave, with a much bigger, spike-covered walking stick than the one Confusion had, and after several seconds of laughing at the situation cracked it on Kagome's head.  
  
"Inuyasha...." She said softly, her face incredibly red and her voice sounding embarassed. "_Kill him_."  
  
"With pleasure!" He shouted at, leaping forward, and swinging to miss by a mile. Fune grinned again, dodging every swing, sometimes by inches, sometimes without even trying, before his eyes widened in shock.  
  
"Sorry, but I've got to run. Maybe I'll see you guys again sometime. Thanks for the great card, Kagome!"  
  
Inuyasha's last swing smashed the ground to rubble, and the collective group stared once more as the phantom charged out, breaking Inuyasha's speed easily.  
  
"Lord Inuyasha, chase after him!" Myoga's voice suddenly screamed, making it apparant he had made it back to his shoulder-side seat on his startled master. "You've just seen an example of his strength firsthand; he can level villages in minutes! If we don't stop him now, he can pillage the entire country by next month!"  
  
Inuyasha feh-ed. "As if I care about that. Are you alright, Kagome?" He asked tenderly, turning to the still red-faced girl.  
  
"I'm fine..." she whispered, her voice breaking. "I just....don't think I've ever been told something so....well, perverted..."  
  
Sango laid a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, Kagome. I can't say I'm surprised, myself. Myoga made him seem like a barbarian to begin with..."  
  
"Indeed." Miroku added, his hand bracing the opposite shoulder. "I can understand him to a small level, though. Being all alone for several centuries can make anyone lone-"  
  
Kagome's hand suddenly grasped Miroku's, which had been trailing to her skirt. She turned her head up and to his side, her eyes with a glare that could kill small children, and curled her other hand into a fist. Sango, Myoga, and Inuyasha flinched at the loud smashing noise and the very girly scream that accompanied it.  
  
".....as I was saying before, we need to chase after Fune." Myoga said weakly, pointing toward the entrance. "Now, before it's too-"  
  
Another shock would have to come to the group, of course, to make the day complete. The light from the entrance suddenly enveloped the whole cavern, brightening to a point which made it painful for even the half-opened, normally colored eye on Miroku, let alone his dark black one.  
  
As it passed, their eyes slowly opening, the cavern was revealed to have changed a great deal. The entrance was gone, seemingly in exchange for the large amount of open space the cave now held. Where stone had presided there was now an immeasurable amount of diamonds and crystals on every square inch of the cave.  
  
"What's going on?" Inuyasha wondered aloud, the question for once sounding amazed, not loud at all.  
  
"We've been transported to a different place....." Sango said off-handedly, clearly astounded in her own right. "The air is too much cleaner to be similar to the other area at all...."  
  
_"Indeed."  
_  
The group at once turned to face the wide, mansion-sized cavern, where the strange, echoing voice had sounded. Clearly feminine, it was suspiscious nonetheless, and the party once again braced for battle.  
  
_"You are the ones who have unsealed this place. Please, come further into the chamber; there is something you have to see."_  
  
"We should continue forward, Inuyasha. Though it may lead to a trap, we have no way of breaking through solid diamond to get out- what's wrong?" Miroku asked, perplexed at his comrades' stares. "What?"  
  
"Miroku, your eye's already healed!" Kagome informed, confusion and miniscule contempt in her tone." Even the outline from Sango's hand is gone!"  
  
_"Indeed."_ The voice agreed as the monk felt his face in wonder. _"I healed him. It makes no sense to speak with any of you if any of you are combating injuries."  
_  
The group glanced amongst each other, then nodded, slowly walking further into the now crystalline cavern.  
  
**00000**  
  
Kagome: Okay, this is starting to get a little too strange, even by our standards! We've somehow unlocked seals on six powerful, elemental spirits, all of which have avatars that are from the card game, Duel Monsters! If they manifest themselves in physical form, they could destroy the entire world, not to mention anyone can find them, absorb them, and take on all their power! Almost half of Sota's cards are gone, too, so I'm gonna be killed by my little brother if I come home! To top it all off, the card whose powers Fune now has is...  
  
Next time: _The Six Spirit Mission Begins!_ WHY did it have to be THIS card? 


	2. The Six Spirit Mission Begins!

**XXXXX**

The small creature was careful to be as quiet as possible, to spy and to search, to see what its master could not. As the light circled around it, and new surroundins flashed from all directions, it held fast to the floor. And then, as the unknowing targets moved forward, it crawled, one of it's six legs at a time, wings folded in, and watched....

**00000**

_Inuyasha: The Six Spirit Mission Begins!_

**00000**

For a good ten minutes, the group quietly strode forward, the slight, unnatural wind the only noise other than their footsteps. The cavern's brightness faded into a calmer, darker sort of beauty the further they went, and the ground, most noticed by Inuyasha, became stiffer, rougher.

"My feet feel scratched up... this had better be worth it." He mumbled under his breath.

"Somehow I don't believe your feet to be the most important thing right now, Lord Inuyasha. " Myoga's nasal tone came from his shoulder, his proportionally large eyes moving left and right frantically. "This cave emits an unusual energy, and the scent of moreso unique blood can be found every few steps.."

"I noticed." The dog demon remarked, turning to his longest-known comrade. "Is there anything different, Kagome? Did something from your giant bag dissapear?"

"What? Why would it?" She asked, confused.

"If Myoga's telling the truth (and he must be, to have come so far into the path of danger), then Fune would have had to Confine himself to an object to take physical form." Miroku noted solemnly. "Whatever he used to appear would have vanished into his being, not to appear again until he is Removed from the item."

Kagome blushed slightly, and turned her head forward again. "Maybe... but if I try and check now, we'd have to stop to rest." She frowned as the backpack seemed to gain another pound.

_"When you next turn, the reason for the seal will be in your sights_." The voice said again as a cruve in the thinning wall came to their eyes. "_This may be of a surprise..."_

"Feh. Whatever it is, we can handle it." The half-demon scoffed, stepping on a slightly smoother stone to turn. "It can't be any more stunning than-"

Whatever the red-clothed warrior had planned to say, it remained silent. He, along with his 4 allies, gasped in unison at the sight before them.

The chamber had grown back to a large, spacious area immediately, the walls and floor smoothened out to be a room of diamond-tiles all around. In the center, however, a large, circular sort of altar stood, surrounded by six massive statues.

From where they stood, it was faintly evidant that a golden, topaz dragon was behind the platform, it's wings fanning high into the air. Directly southeast of that was an emerald woman with wings coming from the sides of her arms, her hands and feet more like talons than anything: a harpy.

In front of the feathered one was a bright amber shape; a wild-haired man surrounded by shields and weapons. Directly in front of them, as well as the podium, was an amethyst sorceror, with recognizable, though strangely shaped armor, a cape, and a long, emerald-wrought sceptar.

To the mage's northwest, a sapphire-made statue of a strange sort of shaman was there, with flowing robes, uncontrolled hair, and an imposing mask. Above that was a large, terrifying ruby beast, bulky and gruesome, with a cage fastened to it's stomach.

Finally, above the altar, a large, blue, oval-like shape floated in midair, unmoving, staring down at them as if emblazed on the forehead of a giant. The altar itself was round, many leveled, with clear water slowly flowing around it. At it's top was an open dome, and a single set of stairs led to the empty, circular center.

"I take it back." Inuyasha said meekly.

"This is beautiful..... who could have made such incredible works?" Sango said, her voice soft and filled with wonder. She turned to smile softly at Miroku, but suddenly grew enraged at the eager look in his eyes. "You're not stealing a single piece of the ground, monk."

"Does no one trust the honor of a holy man anymore?" The endigo-robed one sighed, kicking the small stone hidden under his wooden sandel to the side.

_"In this chamber, the six elemental spirits were sealed away by the greatest sorceror of the ancient deserts_." The feminine voice explained. _"Each of these statues once glowed with a powerful light, as the contained spirits finally found peace in each others' presence. When the Great Demon Lord of the Western Lands was of age, he was handed the means of reinforcing or unlocking the seal. Fune sought the power of the elements, and stole them from Inu-no-taisho several centuries later."_

"I get it... he planned to come here." Kagome nodded as she realized. "But why did they choose to seal him in here? Wasn't that dangerous?"

The voice might have smiled, by her tone. _"The high priest who was called to aid Inu-no-taisho saw it as the most effective means of punishment, to seal Fune mere inches away from his goal, and so it was for years to come. However, on this day, the seal has been broken, and Fune released."_

The son of the mentioned demon lord smirked. "Idiot. He ran off seconds before we were brought here."

_"Because the spirits left, as well." _Was the counter to his statement. The group looked at the statues in confusion as the presence continued._ "The spirits sensed the outside world and their elements, and, after centuries of calm sleep, awoke. They vanished from this cavern, and are now freely roaming the countryside in the form of pure light. If they come into contact with something made from their element, they can take the physical forms you see represented before you; The Avatars of Light, Wind, Earth, Darkness, Water, and Fire."_

Myoga squeaked in fear. "No! These creatures in crystal.... they are like the monsters the mage summoned, perticularly that dragon! If they are unleashed among the region, there will be complete destruction!"

_"If not subjugation, or discriminate destruction." _The voice added. "_If they come into contact with living thing, they will be absorbed into that being, and a new Avatar will be made. Now, anyone who touches a spirit can recieve the forces of nature at their fingertips.... and Fune's new form can find them easily."_

Kagome gasped again, letting her backpack flop to the ground. Odd as it was not hear a smash of the earth, she searched through it's containements, and found the binder Sota had put in; his rarest card-containing binder. She flipped through the plastic pages swiftly, images of creatures and spells passing before her eyes, before a pure white square caught her vision, bordered by a brownish-orange card, with text below.

"Spellcastor/Effect, Attack 1200 Defense 1100...." She read aloud, her expression growing fearful. "As long as this monster remains on the field, Dragon-type monsters are not..."

Her pupils faded, the binder falling from her hands. Inuyasha instictively caught her as she nearly fell over. "What is it, Kagome? What happened?"

"L....lu-lord....of Dragons...." She stuttered out. "Fune's Confined to the _Lord of Dragons_!"

Everyone else widened their eyes in fear as she stood up shakily, and then added," SOTA'S GONNA KILL ME! THAT TOOK A YEAR TO FIND!"

It was the thought that they were standing on the hardest, sharpest possible substance that caused the others to try so hard not to facefault. A twitch above his eyes, the halfbreed snarled, "Is that all? You're worried about your half-sized little brother killing you when a greedy, green-haired thief can control dragons!?"

Ignoring the sound of Sango clearing her throat loudly, the amber-eyed dog glared at the altar, as if the voice's body was sitting there, enjoying the spectacle. "So what happens now? Do we have to fight against these spirits and risk our lives just to stop a guy my dad was annoyed with?"

_"I would think that, the seal's opening being your fault, that would be the kindest thing to do, if not the most obvious."_ The voice spat back, sounding angry._ "The Elements are always closest to their opposites, so Fune can send out dragons of the opposite element to see out certain spirits, and even these creatures can cause great deals of damage to the country. And Fune is not able to sense the spirits through his Confined powers, but through his own; anyone with a great deal of power, human, demon, or inbetween, can sense the spirits."_

"That means Naraku can find them, if he learns of them!" Miroku shouted, also catching on the anger. "If that happens, I believe Fune is the least of our problems."

"Please, whoever you are..." Sango called, worry etched into her face, "is there anything we can do to reach the spirits first?"

_"They are attracted to their elements, as I have said, but also seek powerful, uncorrupted energy. The Shikon Jewel, if, at this time, is held by a righteous soul, would be a beacon for the spirits to head for."_

Kagome stood up, pulling the bottle containing her few remaining shards from the backpack. "The jewel shattered, and is currently in pieces. We have a few, but an evil demon named Naraku has almost all of the others."

"Master Inuyasha, I believe we should leave, quickly, and try to find these spirits before anyone else!" Myoga shouted, which came across almost as a normally-speaking person in the echoing cavern. "This could also be a great source of strength for us!"

"How so?" The much younger demon asked, looking skeptically at his vassal.

"She said 'anyone', did she not? If our group can become the new Avatars of these spirits, then, before we return them to this cave, we can finish our foes, gather the remaining shards of the jewel, and end this needlessly dangerous quest at last!"

After a short moment of thinking, the half-demon nodded, an oddly eager grin on his face. "Now THAT's something I can understand. And if you're ready to use the term 'our' foes, that must mean we have a good chance."

Kagome nodded as well, smiling at the other two. "I'm in. Sango? Miroku?"

"If it will help the innocent, and end these turbulent events, I offer my services fully." The monk stated, his eyes closed and his staff-less hand in it's normal prayer stance.

"If they're seeking out jewel shards, then Kohaku is in danger, as well." The slayer said quietly, before a resigned look came over her face. "Yes, I'm all for it."

_"Thank Ra this group is smarter than it looks. This will be of use to you."_ Kagome held out her hand as a bright light suddenly lowered from the blue shape above them, and faded to form a small, crystal tablet, with an eye-like emblem, which made her palm oddly warm as it landed. "_This is the Key to the World.... hold it up, and say 'Return', and the user, as well as anyone, immediately or by extension, touching him or her, will be teleported back to this cave. To leave this cave, raise it and say 'Release', and think of place you are welcomed at."_

"Thanks." The highschool student said, looking at it as the others crowded around her, quickly adding," Inuyasha, hold my shoulder. Miroku, hold Inuyasha's."

Another resigned sigh came from the amorous monk as she raised the small item. "_Release_!"

**00000**

Shippo had finally been forced to admit it; he was bored. Even though he'd normally be hiding on the sidelines, cowering behind Kagome or Inuyasha, or maybe just avoiding Inuyasha altogether, he would rather be wherever his friends were than just sitting around in Kaede's house. The old priestess herself was out gathering herbs, the nature of which she had informed Shippo was one that was 'not to be handled around children.'

The only other source of entertainment was Kirara, who, most of the time, preferred sleeping over following him in his random walks through the village. Earlier, she had warmed up to playing a game with Shippo, though the outcome was not exactly fun. Sure, she was likely thousands of years older than he, but, _man_, did the cat demon play a mean game of Go!

He was just about to give in, and join his friend in an afternoon snooze, when the tall portion of the group appeared in midair, forming a pile in the center of the room as they fell. "Whoa! What happened to you guys?"

"A lot..." Kagome grumbled. " A WHOLE lot...."

**00X00**

His head turned, almost lazily, for his piercing eyes to look toward the horizon. Behind him, a short, toadlike creature looked up on instinct, carefully trudging over thin sticks on the ground, to avoid breaking them and possibly waking the girl sleeping on the two-headed dragon nearby.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" The small one asked quietly, his raspy voice cutting the air. "Is something wrong, mi'lord?"

A good minute passed before a response came, though Jaken's experienced patience kept him from asking again. The tall, white-clothed demon stood, the setting sun making the markings on his face a few shades brighter.

"Something's different. The wind smells thicker, suddenly. Stronger."

"Stronger?" The imp repeated, before frowing and looking up, moving his head to check the sky. "Is it that pesky wench that serves Naraku, again?"

Sesshomaru's usual frown merely twitched to show the answer was no. "There isn't a demonic aura attached to this wind. Something has happened...or altered... that caused this unknown change." He paused again, smelling the wind with sniffs too quiet to hear.

"Sand... there's a faint smell of sand."

**XXXXX**

The faint buzzing sound accompanied it in it's long journey. It traveled speedily through forests, across meadows, coming near the clouds, until the castle came into sight. An open window provided space for its unusually large body to fly in, until its master was in view.

It served what appeared to be a lord in his mid to lower twenties, tall and with long, pitch-black hair, which fell into dirty-looking strands. The lord wore a dark purple hakata, the emblems of its former owner, a pattern of green and yellow strips, marking places here and there. His skin was pale, from the calm, yet slightly cold expression expression her wore to the hand which offered two fingers for the creature to perch on, but this was natural for those who were rarely in the light.

The only things even hinting that he was an immensely powerful demon were his eyes; two molten red orbs, demonic and blazing with memories of malicious acts, and an unwanted lust.

The large insect landed on the two fingers of its summoner and hastily buzzed what it knew. The cold look remained to the humanoid's face, but added to it was a cruel sort of smirk.

"So, that explains this stange sense.... have you any thought of which spirit is closest to this area?" His voice asked of the insect, low, dark, with a kind of beckon behind it. The bug's pincers clicked, wings buzzing a short, slow reply. The smirk widened. "No need to apologize."

A loud crunching sound rang through the room, and an oversized, mishapen bug fell from the open window to the cliffs below. The lord stood, casually saying, "Kagura."

In an instant, a dark-haired woman with a white attire and slightly lighter eyes appeared, her ponytailed hair held with two small feathers, and a fan in her hand. "Yes?"

"Begin searching for any stange, moving lights that are not recognizedly souls. Take a small number of Saimyosho with you, and do not, under any circumstances, come into contact with these lights, understand?"

A deep frown etched on her face, Kagura nodded. She calmly plucked a feather from her hair, and in a small, pink burst of wind energy, was riding one several times larger out of the same window, following the same path the insect had.

He sat back down, merely making a motion with his hand, and small, emotionless girl appeared at his side, her hair, clothes, and skin a pale white, and a large, silver-framed mirror in her hand.

Watching his other servant fly through the mirrors magic, he pulled a long hair from his head, and removed a wooden block from his clothing. His fingers began to emit a small, purple gas, and with it he began whittling the block into an arcane, doll-like shape.

In a twisted way, it would seem to be a quiet man's casual night at home. If that man's deepest desires were the world's darkest possibilities.

**00000**

Kaede's solemn look remained, undaunted, through the explanations from the four who had been away earlier, and the dreaded things that had happened during their short stay away. "So it seems ye are drawn into a second search, and another foe has appeared in your path."

"And, once again, we've got only one person to blame..." Inuyasha started. "Kagome, do you have a thing about shooting things that will cause us trouble if hit?"

The girl frowned at her friend, before turning away, eyes closed, a casual, uninsulted look on her face. "_Sit_."

_SMASH!_

The elder priestess sweatdropped, sighing deeply at the hole that appeared in her recently repaired floor. "I know not what this entails, but something tells me it will be a greater challenge than merely seeking the shards of the Shikon Jewel."

"That's because these spirits can be used by anybody, and demons can sense them as much as they can the shards. And if they touch certain things, they take on destructive forms." Miroku agreed, looking around. "And to seal that thought, Myoga has vanished again."

"I'm still confused..." Shippo whined, rubbing his tired eyes. "I'll bug Inuyasha about it tomorrow."

"I heard, that, runt." The half-demon growled, pulling a splinter out of his chin.

"Another race begins tomorrow..... and, if we aren't careful, both could end in disaster." Sango noted, stroking Kirara, who was purring contentedly. "We should get some rest."

Mutual agreement met at all sides, and before long the small candle went out, leaving the hut in darkness. But Kagome would still be up, late at night, the card binder in one hand, and the bottle of jewel shards in the other.

"The Shikon Jewel... the Six Elemental Spirits.... and a card game hundreds of years after these events will happen...."

Quietly, with a sad, almost pitiful look, she removed every textbook in her backpack, pushed them to the side, and fell into a tense sleep.

"Farewell, highschool.... I knew thee well.... before I knew nothing at all."

**00000**

_Kagome: Well, my back feels a lot better, but that doesn't change the fact that now Sota AND my mom's gonna tear me alive when I get home. The first spirit makes its fiery entrance, and Inuyasha's special robe gets a resistance workout. Miroku can't use his Wind Tunnel or we'll lose the spirit, we have to deal with these water-spewing dragons, too! Too bad they don't want to help with the damage cleanup..._

_Next time: Fire Spirit, and the First New Avatar!_

_Inuyasha: I can take-ACK! I can't hold Testusaiga!_

**00000**


End file.
